Only The Things That Matter
by JustKeepWalkingNeverStop
Summary: Shinobi are tools. Tools to be used and thrown away when convenient. Some tools however, should never be thrown away. Well, he was. Twice. NaruSamu (Rewrite of Survival)


**All rights are reserved….sadly.**

**Beta'd by the awesome, fashionably late, incredibly grammarific, and soon to be author: DarkNite88 **

**(Oh yeah, grammarific. Google that shit.)**

**(Spoiler alert: It's not a real word.)**

Survival

Chapter 1: Arrival

(Arc I: Tree Line To Hell)

Opening: Believe (Moon Version.) Artist: The Bravery. Album: The Moon. 

It is odd that Kakashi asked them to meet at the red bridge. Odder still is that he was only thirty minutes late instead of his usual, fashionable three hours. Sighing, Sasuke just chalks it up to coincidence and begins to listen to his teacher explain what exactly the chunin exams are consisted of.

"…. And this year's exams are going to be harder than any year before."

Immediately, the raven haired boy's teammate asks "why?" A normal question, perhaps, but it still annoys the ever-living crap out of the young Uchiha. Why? The reason is that it is the self proclaimed 'Sasuke's number one fan' who had asked it.

In his usual jovial attitude, Kakashi ruffles Sakura's hair, much to her annoyance, and replies: "Because, my cute little genin, this year is the first year since the start of the chunin exams that ALL of the big five are participating." Sakura's jaw drops and Sasuke raises an eyebrow.

"Really? I thought they all hated each other."

Kakashi chuckles and cryptically replies "oh they do." Before Sakura can ask why again, their third teammate, Yota, looks at his sensei with sparkles in his eyes.

"Kakashi-sensei! Does that mean all the nations are going to have peace?"

The ex-Anbu eye-smiles at the young boy. Yota had lived a hard life. He had almost died, but the legendary slug princess had stumbled upon him and saved his life. Knowing she didn't have the capability to raise a child, she brought him back to Konoha. Or at least that's the reason she gave. Both Kakashi and Lord Third know the real reason: his personality almost perfectly replicated the presumed dead son of the late Yellow Flash and Red Hot-Blooded Habanero. For the entire trip back to Konoha, Tsunade felt her heart shatter more and more every time she heard the child speak. Kakashi could sympathize with that and then some.

The death of his only link to his beloved sensei almost was enough to make him follow in his father's footsteps and commit Seppuku a.k.a honorable suicide. However, a relationship no-one thought possible had sprung up and stopped his hand. Kakashi had thought after Rin he would never love again, but a certain genjustu mistress changed that. But, that's a story for another time, right?

"That's a hard question, Yota," he starts, and, at seeing clouds in the sky beginning to form, he continues: "but, it is a step in the right direction." And the sun shines once again, like it usually does.

**JustKeepWalkin'JustKeepWalkin'JustKeepWalkin'JustKeepWalkin'JustKeepWalkin'**

_At The Gate_

_"It's been so long,"_ muses a blonde teenager as he and the rest of his team finish up the paperwork with the eternal chunin guards. His musings are interrupted by a simple exclamation from both of his teammates.

"Sugoi…"

Glancing over he sees his female teammate, Haku, and his male teammate, Chojuro, staring at the first hidden village with stars in their eyes. They both start walking into the village. Their sensei, Zabuza, looks on without interest, however, some clouds seem to catch his attention. Haku turns to the blonde ninja and waves. "Naruto-kun, come on!" Naruto nods to his sensei and walks over to his teammates. Zabuza snorts and follows at his own pace.

They walk around for a while and, despite the odd looks from the villagers, have a fun time. Seemingly randomly, Naruto just stops in the middle of a street. Haku and Chojuro both stop as well to look at him. Following his line of sight, they see a little hole-in-the-wall ramen joint by the name of 'Ichiraku.' As if on autopilot, Naruto mindlessly walks in and sits down on one of the stools. Memories of a past life run through his head, and when the waitress, Ayame, asks: "What would you like, honey?" he responds "miso ramen with roasted pork fillet, Ayame-neechan."

**JustKeepWalkin'JustKeepWalkin'JustKeepWalkin'JustKeepWalkin'JustKeepWalkin'**

It was just another day slinging ramen with her father, until a somewhat familiar face sat down. Not wanting to stare too long, Ayame asked for his meal. His response caused her to gasp audibly and remember a young academy student who captured her heart effortlessly.

"Naruto-kun!" she yells and, with a speed that would make any jonin jealous, glomps the Kiri-nin.

Naruto, not used to such contact, awkwardly pats her back. This is the scene the rest of his team and Teuchi walk in on. Zabuza just shakes his head and glances at Haku, who is making an aura that honestly scares the hell out of The Demon of The Mist. After a couple of uncomfortable minutes, Ayame lets go of Naruto and bops him on the head, much to the shock of all present. Zabuza once again glances at his female protégé and then slowly backs away from her. Knowing the protocol, Chojuro does the exact same thing. Naruto shakes off the hit and notices the room begins to get colder. Immediately he knows what's going on.

"Haku, calm down. She's just an old friend," the Kiri-nin states sternly. The only female of Team Zabuza glares at her teammate and softly starts:

"Why is it that every time we go somewhere…"

"Oh, shit."

"YOU SOMEHOW KNOW THE WOMEN! ANSWER ME! NARUTO-KUN!"

**JustKeepWalkin'JustKeepWalkin'JustKeepWalkin'JustKeepWalkin'JustKeepWalkin'**

"NARUTO-KUN!"

All four heads of Kakashi, Jirayia, Tsunade, and Hiruzen snap up so quickly that they seem like they might fling off. Shaking her head, Tsunade looks at her fellow legendary ninja. "I-it's a coincidence. There's no reason to get our hopes up."

Kakashi moves to protest, but a stern look from Jirayia stops him in his tracks.

"I've looked everywhere, Kakashi. He's not out there." Solemnly, Kakashi nods and returns in front of Hiruzen. Hiruzen sighs.

"Now, apart from that interruption, I called you all here to discuss some things for the chunin exams. As you know, participants are coming from everywhere, so it's times like this that sabotage is most likely to occur. Now, all three of you are going to be in places that have the most traffic. Kakashi, you're going to be with the genin, so report anyone who seems out of the ordinary. Tsunade, you're going to be in the infirmary, so keep tabs on all patients. Jirayia, you're going to be with me throughout the entire exam. Understood?"

"Hai!"

"Good! Dismissed!"

**JustKeepWalkin'JustKeepWalkin'JustKeepWalkin'JustKeepWalkin'JustKeepWalkin'**

Despite the assurance from Jirayia, Kakashi couldn't help but search where the scream came from. Using the basics of chakra sensing and wind manipulation, he was able to track down where the sound waves originated. That wasn't the hard part - where it lead was. He hadn't been to Ichiraku's since… yeah. Taking one step forward, the Copy Ninja was assaulted with memories of happier times. Team Minato and his surrogate little brother swept through his mind and before he knew it, Kakashi was walking away from Ichiraku's with his Icha Icha in hand.

_"I'm still weak."_

Not even a moment later, Team Zabuza walks out of the ramen joint.

"Phew, t-that was good," Chojuro sighs. Haku nods in agreement, Zabuza grunts, and Naruto gives no reaction.

Zabuza looks up in the sky and nods. "It's time for sleep, you three. You've got exams tomorrow." With that the team walks away, in the opposite direction of Kakashi. Not that either side know that, of course.

Ending: Shadow Of The Day. Artist: Linkin Park. Album: Minutes to Midnight. (This is my childhood!)

**Yup. Welcome to the rewrite of Survival. This, this is gonna be a wild ride. I hope you all are ready. I've decided, after much self-debate, that this will be a SamuNaru story. This is set in stone, and I'll tell you all why. I, JustKeepWalkingNeverStop, 100% totally utterly SUCK at writing harems. So, sorry. Also, look out for my rewrite of I'll Always Be There. It's gonna come out maybe next week. Well, I'll see you all later!**


End file.
